15 Historical Figures That Could Be The Greatest Humans To Ever Live

When we look back throughout history it’s far too easy to get caught up on humanity’s shortcomings. This could be because it’s a valuable practice to learn from our mistakes. However, we’re going to shake things up and take a closer look at some of the most significantly positive figures to exist throughout history.

1. James Harrison

James Harrison, also known as, The Man With the Golden Arm. This guy was an Australian blood plasma donor who was simply built different. Harrison had plasma that possessed antibodies specifically effective against RhD. Harrison’s plasma would be used to make a treatment for Rhesus disease. He ended up making upwards of 1,100 blood donations, and also saved the lives of 2.4 million babies.

2. Jonas Salk

Jonas Salk not only actually created the polio vaccine, but also was responsible for sharing it as opposed to just trying to make a personal profit off of it.

3. Stanislav Petrov

Stanislav Petrov had a high stakes day like non other. He ended up having his finger on the nuclear button, but didn’t press it. Petrov decided that the four threats that were received were all false alarms.

4. Norman Borlaug

Norman Borlaug was responsible for developing high yield, disease-resistant wheat varieties through cutting edge agricultural research. Also, some of the agricultural techniques ended up being useable around the world, and especially in lesser developed countries.

5. Terry Fox

Terry Fox was able to run a marathon every day for over 140 days. Just let that sink in. Now consider the fact that Terry Fox also pulled this herculean feat off with one good leg in addition t an early 1980s prosthetic. His shoes were also nothing special compared to the shoes that modern runners have nowadays.

6. Dolly Parton

No kidding though. If you don’t already know what makes Dolly Parton so unforgettably great, and a true living legend, then you’ve already missed the boat.

7. Alexander Fleming

Alexander Fleming mistakenly discovered penicillin due to him forgetting his sandwich. Later on though Fleming noted that parts of his sandwich were covered in mold, while other parts weren’t. That very thing that was killing the mold was the aha moment.

8. Marie Curie

Marie Curie was a Polish-born French physicist and chemist. Curie is looked upon as a true pioneer in the study of radiation. She wont he Nobel Prize twice, and alongside her husband Pierre Curie, she discovered the radioactive elements polonium and radium in 1898.

9. Oliver Evans

Think of Oliver Evans as the dude who pulled through in the clutch and invented air conditioning. Then, consider how much of modern day civilization relies on that crazy thing called refrigeration.

10. Frederick Banting

Frederick Banting was a Canadian physician and scientist who was responsible for co-discovering insulin. Banting was the first ever to treat diabetes with it.

11. Steve Irwin

Come on now. Steve Irwin literally dedicated his life to focusing on how to best preserve earth. That’s something special indeed.

12. Henrietta Lacks

Henrietta Lacks cells that were harvested without her knowledge (she had a very rare and fast growing cancer) are now in a truly insane number of labs around the world. These cells are being used for research to help humankind in practically every area of disease.

13. Ignaz Semmelweis

Ignac Semmelweis was a Hungarian doctor who worked as a chief physician in the obstetrics department of the St. Rokus Hospital from 1851 in Pest. Semmelweis was responsible for pointing out the numerous, invaluable benefits of aseptic (also known as infection preventing) procedures in both obstetrics and surgery.

14. Hedy Lamarr

Hedy Lamarr was responsible for co-inventing the technology of frequency hopping back in 1942. This essentially pioneered what would end up being the building blocks for today’s WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth communication systems.

15. Fritz Haber and Carl Bosh

These two lads were responsible for discovering how to produce ammonia on a massive scale. This would serve as the precursor of fertilizers. Without it, just imagine how impossibly difficult it would be to try to come anywhere close to sustaining billions of people that walk the earth.